Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Winter Solstice

So I thought it appropriate to post a snow photo on this the first day of Winter.

One of the things you will see here in Washington if you visit this time of year is a Yule log burining in a big pit near the National Christmas Tree on the Elipse near the White House.

It puts off a lovely light and provides warmth in the midst of weather like we have had lately - temps in the teens at night and 30s during the day.

Light has always been associated with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.

Now I am the furthest thing you could imagine to a Druid, celebrating the sun god Balder or a Persian buring a candle for Mithra.

But it is heart warming to see lights in people's windows (or on their homes) this time of year.

Especially for those who work early and come home late - who never see the sun - it can be a great welcome to see a light in the window.

And it helps me to remember that from this point on, the days will start getting longer. God in his mercy has stopped the ball from rolling, and it will beging to turn the Northern Hemisphere back toward the sun.

This photo might remind people of Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. But, I also like to thing of another of his poems, Sitting by a Bush in Broad Sunlight .